Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Calculus, math research, physics, earth and environmental
sciences, Walt Whitman, Islamic manuscripts from Mali, and the
history of Western music are among the topics of 13 new
resources at FREE, the website that makes teaching resources
from federal agencies easier to find:
http://www.ed.gov/free
Special collections at FREE this month include:
Jazz Appreciation Month
What does bebop sound like? How did jazz evolve? Learn
about Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and others. See ideas
for celebrating jazz appreciation month and for studying
jazz in U.S. history or music class.
http://www.ed.gov/free/jazz.html
Financial Literacy Month
Learn the basics about getting the most out of your money
-- saving, investing, banking, and buying a home. Try an
online retirement calculator. Test your "financial
smarts."
http://www.ed.gov/free/fin-lit.html
FREE offers an RSS feed. Get new teaching and learning
resources delivered several times a week:
http://www.ed.gov/free/rss.html
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Arts
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"Leonard Bernstein: An American Life"
is a guide to an 11-part documentary illuminating the life and
work of one of America's greatest classical musicians, Leonard
Bernstein (1918-1990). An audio overview -- and websites for
learning about Bernstein and classical music -- are provided.
(NEH)
http://wfmt.com/bernstein/
"Moldenhauer Archives"
presents 130 music manuscripts, letters, and materials from a
3,500-item collection documenting the history of Western music
from the medieval period through the modern era. Essays by
musicologists discuss items from Bach, Beethoven, Brahms,
Chopin, Handel, Liszt, Mozart, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and
other composers. (LOC)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/moldenhauer/
"NEA Jazz in the Schools"
traces the history of jazz from its birth in New Orleans to
the swing era, bebop, and new frontiers. Five lessons include
essays, videos, photos, and nearly 100 music clips of Scott
Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Louie Armstrong, Fletcher
Henderson, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Bud
Powell, Miles Davis, Charlie Mingus, Sonny Rollins, John
Coltrane, and others. Lessons include social and political
context and are designed for history classes as well as music.
(NEA)
http://media.jalc.org/nea/home.php
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Math
====
"Calculus on the Web"
offers an interactive environment for learning, practicing,
and experimenting with the ideas and techniques of calculus.
It is organized in seven parts: Precalculus; Calculus I, II,
and III; Linear Algebra; Number Theory; and Abstract Algebra.
(NSF)
http://www.math.temple.edu/%7Ecow/
"Mathematics: Research Overview"
looks at topics of major research in mathematics: image
creation, statistics, inverse problems, CPU testing, materials
and nanotechnology, proteins, random graphs, prime numbers,
optimization, design, financial mathematics, weather and
climate simulation, rare events, and high-dimensional data
sets. (NSF)
http://www.nsf.gov/news/overviews/mathematics/index.jsp
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Science
=======
"Earth and Environmental Science: Research Overview"
examines questions that scientists are pursuing: What part do
we play in earth's changing climate? What can rock layers
tell us about earth's history? How can we understand the
forces that lead to earthquakes and volcanoes? How can
organisms live without sunlight? How do long-term changes
affect earth's ecosystems? (NSF)
http://www.nsf.gov/news/overviews/earth-environ/index.jsp
"Physics Education Technology (PhET)"
produces fun, interactive simulations of physical phenomena.
More than 35 simulations let students experiment with
circuits, string tension, kinetic and potential energy, radio
waves and electromagnetic fields, balloons and static
electricity, ideal gas and buoyancy, velocity and
acceleration, sound waves and the Doppler effect, and more.
(NSF)
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phet/
"Physics to Go"
is a collection of reviewed resources for teaching and
learning about astronomy, electricity and magnetism, fluids,
light, modern physics, motion and energy, quantum physics, and
waves and pendula. (NSF)
http://www.compadre.org/informal/index.cfm
"Teach the Earth"
offers hundreds of teaching activities, visualizations, and
resources for teaching earth science. Categories include
biosphere, climate change, energy/material cycles, geology and
human health, geochemistry, hydrosphere and cryosphere,
mineralogy, ocean systems, petrology, solar system, and earth
history. Special sections are provided on using data and
teaching quantitative skills. (NSF)
http://serc.carleton.edu/index.html
======================
History/Social studies
======================
"Ancient World Mapping Center"
promotes cartography, historical geography, and geographical
information science within the field of ancient studies. The
Center is developing a community of scholars, teachers, and
specialists to collaborate in the updating and expansion of
the spatial and historical reference information assembled by
the Classical Atlas Project. The Center also offers free
digital maps of the ancient world for educational use. For
most maps, a blank version suitable for quizzes and
customization is provided. (NEH)
http://www.unc.edu/awmc/index.html
"Islamic Manuscripts from Mali"
showcases 22 manuscripts from Timbuktu and the surrounding
regions of Mali and West Africa, enabling students to
understand the rich culture and society of the region.
Especially noteworthy are the extensive collections of photos
showing the domestic architecture, the characteristics of
Islamic manuscripts, and an array of interactive maps made in
Europe beginning in the 16th century. (LOC)
http://international.loc.gov/intldl/malihtml/malihome.html
"MyMoney.gov"
is the U.S. government's website for teaching all Americans
the basics about financial education. Whether you're buying a
home, balancing your checkbook, or investing in your 401k,
MyMoney.gov can help you do it better. Find important
information from 20 federal agencies. See if you have
"financial smarts": take the MyMoney interactive quiz. Read
the national strategy for financial literacy. (MA)
http://www.mymoney.gov/
"Revising Himself: Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass"
is a virtual tour of Whitman's life tracing the 40-year
history of his famous masterpiece, from when it was first
published (1855) to the ninth and final edition (1892).
Depicted are selected manuscript drafts, notes for poems,
information on his changing career paths, first-hand
correspondence, and treasures from friends and family. The
site helps show how Whitman's vision of America influenced the
course of American literature. (LOC)
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/whitman-home.html
Acronyms
~~~~~~~~
LOC -- Library of Congress
MA -- Multiple Agencies
NEA -- National Endowment for the Arts
NEH -- National Endowment for the Humanities
NSF -- National Science Foundation